Following criticism of previous contractors, Serco says street cleaning and grounds maintenance will be handled differently from April 1. Maintenance of parks, sports pitches, grass verges and playgrounds will now be handled by the same company as street cleaning. Additional changes include the introduction of a performance-related profit scheme. Council staff will audit the company against approved quality assurance standards. Only if these standards are met will the company make a profit. The contractor will be able to target its resources to specific areas. If a street is not dirty, it will not be cleaned but troublesome streets will receive extra sweeps. Serco chief executive Peter Holden said: “The borough is going to be broken down into four different areas, the idea being there will always be a team near any troublespots. “We look forward to 10 years of partnership.” The company plans to work closely with the police and community groups on social issues such as vandalism and graffiti. In addition to the four borough-wide teams, there will be seven neighbourhood teams from Woking Borough Council working to support Serco. Council executive director Douglas Spinks said: “The seven neighbourhood teams will mean we have somebody in each patch. “Part of the role will be going into schools and tackling the roots of littering and other issues.” Fellow executive director Ray Morgan added: “It is a different way of doing things. Instead of Serco having a fixed schedule of work, its teams are being asked to use their own judgement to ensure required outcomes are achieved.”